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18 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matthew Vella MANAGING EDITOR Saviour Balzan Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 JANUARY 2020 10 January, 2010 Mifsud Bonnici irked at pressure on legal access HOME Affairs minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici this week confronted Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, in an attempt to convince him not to be pressured into "appeasing" disgruntled back- bencher Franco Debono, by hastily introducing an amendment to the Criminal Code which permits criminal suspects to consult with a lawyer before being interrogated by the police. MaltaToday was told that Mifsud Bonnici "blew his top" over pressure from Castille to speed up the process to amend the law, which both his office and the Police force do not want to implement until they get the necessary guar- antees that such a move would not encourage criminality. The amendment is part of a wide-ranging reform of the judiciary that had been unani- mously approved by parliament in 2002, but never implemented due to serious concerns from the police. The issue is one of a series of "complaints" put forward to the Prime Minister by Franco Debono, who last month embarrassed govern- ment by missing a parliamentary vote that led to Speaker Louis Galea using his casting vote. Debono stressed this matter once again last Friday on PBS during Xarabank, where he insisted that "Parliament must be respected," in an obvious dig at the Prime Minister. The backbencher, who until recently had clearly fallen out of favour with the Prime Minister, will also feature in an edition of PBS's Dissett, to talk about the issue of access to legal assistance for criminal suspects. His participation on Xarabank this Friday was also given additional promotion by PBS news the night before, in a news report on the legal amendment, which also featured minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici. "I don't want to be put into a position where somebody comes up to me to tell me that with the amendment, his or her aggressor or whatever walked free from prosecution or judgement," an irate Mifsud Bonnici told PBS on Thursday. Mifsud Bonnici went a step further, saying confessions were "conclusive evidence". Ministry officials later told MaltaToday that they were annoyed that PBS could have been guided in piling on the pressure on Mifsud Bonnici, who is reportedly being told by the police force not to give in to the pressure. The minister's staff considered the news report as "odd" given that the item included Labour's spokesperson on justice Josè Herrera, who challenged the minister to implement the measure without any delay, insisting it was a suspect's human right to consult a lawyer prior or during his interrogation. MaltaToday 10 years ago Quote of the Week Malta's new political season Editorial THE emotions that ran high as Joseph Muscat gave his last speech as prime minister were an en- during image for Malta's typical hero-worship of 'big men' in public life: politics, business, sports… the personality cult has been with us for decades and only now it seems are people attempting to chip away at this patina of blind loyalty. Muscat came on stage in a fitting send-off to crown the greatness with which his persona had been imbued. His choreographed speech, the skilled oratory in which he delivers gravitas and light humour with ease, the timbre of his voice and posture… with this came the long list of his administration's achievements, delivered with some woeful self-awareness of the rude interruption to what should have been a longer political cycle. There is no doubt in observers' and vot- ers' minds, that Muscat's mercurial career is replete with unprecedented success. Not only was he a successful party leader who took over a broken party to turn it into a modern, winning machine, but he gelled together self- interest groups to command hegemonic vote majorities. With that came formidable eco- nomic growth, and a socially liberal outlook that not only threw out the ingrained conserva- tism of Nationalist politics but normalised life for many social groups, making Malta a leader in LGBT rights. Less of a socialist and more the Blairite so- cial democrat, Muscat's role as prime minister was embodied by his well-educated, liberal, and business-savvy outlook. His forays onto the stage of European politics made him an apt representative of the Maltese. He made his personal ambition and energetic approach to a politics that serves people, the mark of a suc- cessful Labour government. There is no doubt that yet more greatness beckoned. But the shadow of Panama and the tragic aftermath of the Daphne Caruana Galizia as- sassination is an indelible stain on this man's legacy. Panamagate, and its link to Labour's chief electoral promise of 2013, an attempt to create a conduit for alleged bribes on the gas power plant in which Yorgen Fenech was a shareholder, cast a shadow over Muscat and his closest allies. The arrest of Fenech, the 17 Black owner, on suspicion of being the mas- termind of the Caruana Galizia assassination, and the implication of Muscat's chief-of-staff Keith Schembri, broke down the trust Muscat commanded over a sizeable part of the elector- ate. What did he know all along, of the Panama connection, and of Schembri's intimacy with Fenech? None of this tragedy can be separated from Muscat's legacy. Like all prime ministers, his successes can be seen by critical eyes as being balanced out by their costs: an economy on steroids dependent on over-development, the radical change in our townscapes, the destruc- tion of the countryside and village cores, the social fabric disturbed by hiked up property prices and rents for foreign workers, the un- willingness to heed warnings on governance and allegations of corruption. Propping up the 'successful' machinery of Muscat's Labour gov- ernment came with a dependence on propa- ganda, the millions of euros drummed up by the sale of citizenship to the global elites, and a 'pro-business' approach that has also punished Maltese communities. Yes, Muscat is entitled to croon on the jobs he created and the social welfare net which he strengthened. But his legacy has to take into account the reputational disaster that ema- nated from the Panama Papers and his collabo- rators' involvement in an assassination that has torn apart the country. This history is not Labour's to write. That is something Malta's new prime minis- ter should keep in mind. Chris Fearne said he would make cleaning up Malta's reputation a priority, gathering stakeholders for a constitutional convention to address Malta's governance shortcomings. Robert Abela has sounded less keen about the prospect. But what these candidates said on the soapbox for Labour Party voters is now a dif- ferent matter altogether: they have the Maltese nation to answer to. Again, this has been greatly exacerbated by the circumstances of Joseph Muscat's exit strategy. By retaining the position of prime minister down to the final whistle, and even addressing the party general conference on the eve of the vote, Muscat has made himself an ar- biter of the transition of power in a very subtle way, imparting to Labour voters a message to replicate the success of his leadership. At what cost, one might ask. Malta is headed into yet a new political sea- son. A new Labour leader might be eager to seal a new five-year term with another snap election, perhaps in the near future, and capi- talise on a divided PN led by a lame duck lead- er. If Robert Abela wins the election, he will al- so have to see how to command the loyalty of a Cabinet of ministers that has sworn allegiance to Chris Fearne in this leadership campaign. It could mean uncharted waters for Labour as Muscat's unifying force gives way to a new kind of influence. The PN itself might be gearing up for an inevitable 'coup' to select a new leader that can take on the new prime minister. Will both parties commit themselves to a change in the political culture that respects voters, that vows to address the shortcomings in good gov- ernance, that builds a new foundation of trust for the Maltese republic? "You may ask if I have any disappointments, I have, and that is the Caruana Galizia Murder, and I am truly sorry for what happened". Joseph Muscat in his farewell speech to the Labour Congress 10 January 2020